Systems for correcting of processing so-called diagnostic tests of multiple choice type

ABSTRACT

System for correcting multiple choice tests in which the students&#39;&#39; answers are given on forms having different markings for alternatives to each question and including an original and at least one copy so that the original can be detached from the copy and fed to an optical reading and recording device for processing the information in a computer and the copy can be fed to an answer key for marking the correct answers on the copy.

United States Patent Sternberg et al.

[451 Feb. 19, 1974 SYSTEMS FOR CORRECTING OF PROCESSING SO-CALLED DIAGNOSTIC TESTS OF MULTIPLE CHOICE TYPE Inventors: Ingvar Per Mikael Sternberg,

Staffanstorp; Lars Lennart Gustaisson, Lund; Henry Ebbe Arvid Samuelson, Linkoping; Sven-Erik Wallin, Enskede, all of Sweden Assignee: Studentlitteratur AB, Lund, Sweden Filed: Aug. 13, 1971 Appl. No.: 171,557

Foreign Application Priority Data Aug. 17, 1970 Sweden 11170/70 U.S. Cl 35/48 A Int. Cl. G09b 1/00 Field of Search 35/9 A, 9 F, 9 R, 10, 48 A, 35/48 B, 48 R, 9 B, 6; 235/61] R, 61.6 E, 61.12 R

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,614,338 10/1952 Clark 35/48 A 3,257,545 6/1966 Berkel et al.... 235/61.12 R 2,977,689 4/1961 Rugland et al. 35/48 A 3,201,569 8/1965 Conron 35/48 3,487,561 1/1970 Azure, Jr. et al. 35/48 3,643,348 2/1972 Azure, Jr. 35/48 Primary Examiner-Robert W. Michell Assistant Examiner-Vance Y. Hum Attorney, Agent, or FirmBierman & Bierman [57] ABSTRACT 1 Claim, 29 Drawing Figures -Kl2 g l Kll fi r r r '1 z I 88.3 HIHHIHJ 1M 2 'l1,21, 5/ n \Tx J 5 ULILJLI LlLlLlElLl m 0000 00000 I! I; 0000 00000 'ssElUDUU I 0000 00000 s600000 In 0000 00000 ss00000 m 0000 00000 |s600000 51 0000-15 00000 5100000 0 A 0000 00000 SBClClDDCl as 00000 00000 .6900000 66 0000 00000 IBOClElElUl] m 100 160000 6100000 0 200000 2100000 6100000 1n 3[:ll:lElEl- 1600000 6600000 E! 600000 1900000 6600000 121 sElD|I]ElE1 6600000 6500000 0 600000 6100000 6600000 5 100000 6100000 6100000 0 MISSED 33131351313 68131313130 E c' 900000 6600000 6900000 :1 1oE1DE1ElEl :sUElElDU 70131301313 0 1100000 6600000 1100000 113 1200000 SYCIElClElCl 1200000 n 1100000 SUElElClElE] UClDElElE] 0 1600000 6900000 1600000 0 1500000 1.600000 1600000 0 1600000 bllIlElElClEl 1600000 0 1100000 6100000 1100000 0 1600000 6600000 1600000 I 1900000 6600000 1900000 0 zo00000 6500000 6600000 in 2100000 6600000 6100000 0 z2E1E1DE!D 6100000 6200000 m z600000 6600000 6600000 n 2600000 6900000 6600000 n 1600000 SODEICJUC] BSClElDDC] 0 I4:

PATENTED 1 9 974 sum 01 0F.13

PAIENT Fun 91914 SHEET 02 0F 13 DUDUD'UUUUUDUU-UUEIUUUDUUUC1 UUUCIDDEIUEJUUEIUUUEIUDUUUUUUD DUUUUUUUUUDUUUUUUUDUEIEIUUE UDCIUUUDDUE [JUDGE]UDUUUUU-UUUEIUUUDUEDEIUDDEIDUUDUUE UUDUUDUUDDUDUUDDUUUUCID-DU EIEIULFIUUCJDUE G? [31:10amnmnmmuunummmmuclnnmn UUL] ummnmclmm'mc nuujumnnumc [10130001300 UDEIUUUUUUUDUUUEIUUUUUUUUUE] UUDUUELUUUDUUUUUDEIUUDDECIDE} UUUUEIUUUDUUUDUUUUDUUUUDUUUUUUUUEIDUD UDUDUUUUUUDUUUUUDU UUDEIUUUUDUUUUEICIDU UUUUUUUUUUUUUUDU-UDUUDEIUUUUUUUUUUUUU IIllIIIIlIIIIIIIIIIlIIIlI-If FIG. 2

PATENTEU FEB 1 9 974 Read Resetting PATENTEUFEBIQIW 3.793.472

' snezmovur 13 F/GSa 75 is v F/GSa ZNZZ/ 9 Error ind. 2,2k

PATENTED 3,793 .472 SHEET 08' [1F 13 PAIENTEU FEB 1 9 1914 SYSTEMS FOR CORRECTING OF PROCESSING SO-CALLED DIAGNOSTIC TESTS OF MULTIPLE CHOICE TYPE The present invention relates to a system for correcting or processing so-called diagnostic tests of multiple choice type, in which the students answers are given on answer forms having different markings for answer alternatives to each question and comprising an original and at least one copy.

Some of the purposes of diagnostic tests are to give the student rapid information of his status, i.e., which moments he masters and which need further studying, to give the course-leader and other teachers of the course rapid information of the teaching result so that correcting steps can be rapidly taken, and to give the designers of the course, i.e., the designer of textbooks and teaching aids plus the course-leader, information of the efficiency of the teaching methods. To enable the course-leader and other teachers of the course to take the proper steps, the test results must be processes statistically and the results must be arranged in different tables. As the number of students of the various courses often are 600-700, the rapidity in collecting and processing the information must be very high. Often a computer must be used for the processing work and due to the required rapidity in collecting information the type of questions mostly must be such that the question have fixed answer alternatives. An example of such a question is: what is 2 X Answer: a 3, b 9, c 10, d 11 and e 17. To this question there are thus five alternative answers. At the same time it must be possible to transfer the students answers to the memory of the computer without any loss of time. The students answers should therefore be transferred to the computer via some suitably type of reading device and possibly via some suitably type of recording device controlled by the reading deving.'Reading devices of the optical type are preferable but the optical readers availableon the market are far too expensive to be used in this connection. Known optical readers at a suitable pricelevel have been found less suitable for the type of forms used in this connection. With these low-price readers it is not either possible to give the student any direct information of the test result. The fact that it is desirable to have one reader at each writing station makes the high-price readers still more inconvenient. Besides, it is an established rule that the test result must not leave the writing station if it is a question of an examination test and should not leave the writing station if it is merely a question of a diagnostic test. At the same time it is desirable to use only one form for the students answer and to use only this single form when reading for collecting information. This is primarily due to the fact that the student may have forgotten to correct the copy if the correction has been carried out on the original. It also is desirable that the optical reader should be able to transfer the information read from the students answer form to a punched tape and that it should be possible for e.g., a porter or a secretary to handle the optical reader. After the optical reader has produced a punched tape, this tape is sent to a computing centre where the computer is provided with a correction program which is adapted to the information collecting method used.

In this connection the student also desires to know his result as soon as possible. The earlier point of time the student can learn his result is when he leaves the writing-room. It is, consequently, at this moment he should have available an answer key or get his test corrected. To this end several solutions (masking patterns, stencils with the right answers, etc.) are conceivable. Experience shows, however, that the correction to be carried out must be quite unambiguous for otherwise the student will interpret his result too much in his own favour. In this case one has come to the conclusion that an answer key in the form of punching device or some other marking device is the best solution of this problem. As a machine is used for correcting the students answer copy, the form must be so designed that it can be put into the machine without confusion. If the form should be put into the machine in a wrong way, the form must not be destroyed but is should be possible to put it right so that the student will receive a correct marking.

In accordance with the present invention the above objects are realized by means of a system of the type described above, wherein the original is detached from the copy and fed to a reading device reading the informatiori on the original and recording this information on a recording medium and/or feeding the information to a computer directly or via the recording medium for processing and writing out the processed information in a suitable format, and the copy is fed to an answer key in the form of a device for marking the correct answers on the copy.

The invention will be described more in detail in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system according to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows an example of a form for use in the system of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electronic circuit means for a reading device according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a time diagram illustrating the mode of operation of the circuit means shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing an amplifier for the circuit means of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5A shows an input pulse to the amplifier of FIG.

FIG. 5B shows an output pulse from the amplifier of FIG. 5;

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing a comparator for the circuit means of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6A shows an output pulse from the comparator of FIG. 6;

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing a register for the circuit means of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing a delay circuit for the circuit means of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8A shows the symbol used in FIG. 3 for the circuit of FIG. 8;

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram showing a pulse generating circuit for the circuit means of FIG. 3;

FIG. 9A shows the symbol used in FIG. 3 for the circuit of FIG. 9;

FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram showing an indicator for the circuit means of FIG. 3;

FIG. 10A shows the symbol used in FIG. 3 for the circuit of FIG. 10;

FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram showing a decoding circuit for the circuit means of FIG. 3;

FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram showing a parity generator for the circuit means of FIG. 3;

FIG. 12A is a circuit diagram showing the symbo used in FIG. 3 for the circuit of FIG. 12;

FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram showing a control network for the circuit means shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 14 is a view showing a feed table for the reading device according to the invention;

FIG. 15 is a schematic side view of the table of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a sectional view of a reading head for the reading device according to the invention.

FIG. 17 is a bottom view of the reading head;

FIG. 18 is a partial perspective view of an answer key or a device for marking the correct answers on a form according to the invention;

FIG. 19 is a partial perspective view of another part of the device of FIG. 18;

FIG. 20 is a side view of the device of FIG. 18,

FIG. 21 is a partial sectional view of the device of FIG. 18; and

FIG. 22 is a further partial sectional view of the device of FIG. 18.

As appears from FIG. 1 the students answer consists of a form comprising an original 1 and a copy 2. The original 1 and the copy 2 should preferably be attached to each other, and at the end of the written test or when the student is to hand in his answer he detaches the original from the copy 2. The original is handed over to a porter or other person taking care of the original for further processing. The student is allowed to keep the copy 2 and takes this with him to an answer key 3 or a device marking the correct answers on the students form copy 2, which device will be described more in detail later on. The original '1 is fed into an optical reader 4 which first reads the information on the original and processes it in a suitable way so that the information can be fed to a recording device 5, preferably in the form of a tape punch. After the original has been read in the optical reader 4, the original 1 is fed to the archives 6. The punched tape received from the recording device 5 is transferred to a computer 7 which is provided with a suitable program for handling the information on the punched tape. This information is processed in a suitable manner in the computer 7 and the result of this processing operation is written out on one form 8 for a course designer, one form 9 for a teacher and a duplicate 10 for the student. The students duplicate enables him to check the information the teacher has received 'from the computer 7.

An example of an answer form is shown in more detail in FIG. 2. The form is divided into different fields ll, 12, 13 and 14. The field 11 is in the form ofa head and is intended for identification of the student by stating, for instance, name, personal number, test, etc., not coded. The field 12 is intended for reproduction of the text not coded in coded form and, if desired, for control information to the computer in coded form. The field 13 is intended for the students answer in the form of a sign in one of the alternative markings for each question. This sign may in principle consist of anything, e.g., a cross, a ring, a point, a filling, etc., in one of the square markings. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 the field 14 is divided into two fields positioned on either side of fields ll, 12 and 13. The field 14 is intended for control information to the reading device 4. As appears from FIG. 2, the fields 12 and 13 are provided with a number of markings in the form of squares 15. These squares 15 are arranged in groups having five squares in each group. These groups of markings are arranged in three columns. The distance between the columns is greater than that between the square of one group. The square within each group are aligned and also the groups in the different columns are aligned with each other. In the right-hand part of field 14 shown in FIG. 2 there is a column of clock-pulse generating markings K1 1 which are filled. The markings K11 are situated at the same distance from each other throughout the column in the right-hand part of the field 14. In the left-hand part of the field 14 shown in FIG. 2 there is a column of clock-pulse generating markings K12 which are completely filled. Also these markings K12 are situated at the same distance from each other along the entire column except along the field l l and the last marking in the column which is situated more closely to the preceding marking. As appears from FIG. 2 the markings K12 in the left-hand part of the field 14 are positioned right between the markings K11 in the right-hand part of field 14. The reason therefor will be described in more detail in connection with the description of the mode of operation of the reading device.

The form shown in FIG. 2 is so arranged that it can be put into a machine without confusion. For this purpose the square markings 15 are arranged unsymmetrically on the form. This is illustrated by means of the system of coordinates indicated at the top to the left. This coordinate system is illustrated by means of a horizontal axis X and a vertical axis Y intersecting each other at the beginning of the first square marking on the form. This intersectional point is also considered to coincide with the corner of the form. The first squares in the coordinate system have been numbered 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, and it appears that square markings are to be found only in the odd squares in the coordinate system. As all of the square markings 15 on the form are placed only in odd squares the fact that the form is rectangular makes it impossible to place it in a machine in more than one way if a marking is to be made in the squares. If the form is turned wrong when it is put into the machine, the marking produced by the machine will not fall within any of the squares 15 but outside these squares, whereupon the form can be turned into its correct position so that the marking will fall within the squares. Thus, the form will not either be destroyed if it should be turned wrong when being put into the machine.

Regarding the dimensions of the square markings shown in FIG. 2 it should be pointed out that the square markings K11 have a dimension of 3 X 4 mm, the width being 4 mm and the height 3 mm. It should be noted, however, that the first K11 marking .on the form has a height of 4 mm and that the distance between the K11 markings is 5 mm throughout the column, and that both the first pulse and the last pulse in the column are situated adjacent the edge portion on the respective short side. The markings K12 in the left-hand column have a height of 1.5 mm and are positioned at levels right between the markings K11. It should also be noted that the markings K12 start at one of the short sides of the form with a marking having a height of 2 mm. Then there is a gap along the field 11 and the second marking K12 is positioned at a level between the first and second rows of square markings 15. The last marking K12 is placed adjacent the other short side of the form and has a height of 3 mm. The invention should of course not be considered restricted to the above mentioned dimensions.

FIG. 2 shows various examples of how a student can deliver his answer to questions 1-5. As has already been pointed out, the type of signs is of no importance After a student has filled in his answer form and leaves the writing station, the student or a porter should detach the original 1 which should be kept as a document of the students answer while the student may keep the copy 2 and take it with him from the written test. After the porter has collected all the original he will have to pass them on to the station where the reading device 4 and the recording device 5 are placed.

FIGS. 3-17 illustrate the reading device 4 according to the present invention. As appears in more detail from FIGS. 14-17, the reading device comprises a feed table 16 which is clamped between side pieces 17 and 18 at an angle of about 30 to the horizontal plane, as seen from the side. Provided on the feed table are two guide rails 19, 20 between which an original 1 is to be guided so as to reach a feed roller 21 which is rotatably mounted on a shaft which is driven by a suitable driving means. The feed roller 21 carries the original 1 past a reading head 22 to a pair of feed rollers 23. These feed rollers 23 are mounted on the same shaft which is driven by a suitable driving means. The feed roller 21 is to be driven at a slightly lower speed than the feed rollers 23, which results in the original 1 being stretched in the zone below the reading head 22. The speed of the feed roller 21 may be, say, 95 percent of the speed of the feed rollers 23. After the form has been discharged from the feed rollers 23 it is carried to the archives 6. The reading head 22 is of the optical type and is shown in more detail in FIGS. 16 and 17. Quite close to the form is a diaphragm 24 having an aperture 25 for each square marking and an aperture for each of the clock-pulse generating marking columns K11 and K12. Thus, for the form shown in FIG. 2 there are seventeen apertures 25 in the diaphragm 24. Above each of the apertures 25 in the diaphragm 24 there is a photoelectric cell 26. These cells 26 are arranged in apertures in a light conductor 27, and the apertures in the light conductor 27 are aligned with the apertures 25 in the diaphragm 24. Above the light conductor 27 and the photo-cells 26 there is a light source in the form of a lamp 28. The light from the lamp 28 is led past the cells 26 by means of the light conductor 27 and due to the design of the underside of the light conductor 27 the light is directed towards and through the apertures 25 of the diaphragm 24 in such a way that light is reflected from the form 1 towards the cells 26. If there is a change in the return of light to the photocells 26, for instance because of a sign in some of the marking squares 15, it will result in a change in the signal from the cell 26. Thus, each clock-pulse marking K11 and K12 always results in a signal change because the clock-pulse markings are filled. Consequently, when the original 1 is fed past the reading head 22, signal changes are obtained from at least five of the cells 26, viz., the outer clock-pulse cells and at least one cell in each column.

According to the present invention the electronic cir- I cuit means shown in FIG. 3 is used for further processing and recording of the signal changes. Each of the photo-electric cells 26 is coupled to a register via one amplifier and one comparator, respectively. The cell corresponding to the clock-pulse markings K11 is coupled via an amplifier and a comparator to the register and a control network while the cell corresponding to the clock-pulse markings K12 is coupled via an amplifier and a comparator to the control network. The control network is coupled to the register via two conductors, a resetting signal appearing on one conductor and a read order appearing on the other conductor. The read order conductor from the control network is also coupled to a parity generator. The register is coupled to a decoding circuit which, in its turn, is coupled to the parity generator. Two conductors lead from the control network to the decoding device, and a start signal P for a punching device appears on one of said conductors and decoding phase signals F appear on the other. The decoding device, the parity generator and the control network are coupled to a per se known tape punch 5 which only is shown in FIG. 1. The decoding device is connected with the punch 5 via five conductors each representing one of the different answer alternatives to a question and being designed A, B, C, D, E and Ch], Ch2, Ch3, Ch4 and Ch6, respectively. The parity generator is connected with the punch via a conductor Ch5 and the control network is connected with the punch via three conductors Ch7, P1 and PR. A start signal for the punch appears on the conductor Pl-and a ready signal from the punch appears on the conductor PR. FIG. 3 also shows a network voltage unit suitable for feeding the different circuits and converting an alternate voltage of 220 V and 50 Hz into direct voltages of +5V and +15V. FIGS. 5-13 show in more detail the circuits included in the block diagram according to FIG. 3. No doubt the circuit diagrams shown in FIGS. 5-13 are so illustrative to anyone skilled in the art that no further description appears necessary for the understanding of the present invention.

The mode of operation of the reading device will now be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2-4 and of course also to the detail diagrams of FIGS. 5-13. First of all it should be pointed out that the signal K11 from one of the cells 26 and the read order from the control network to the register is the reading condition for the register. FIG. 2 contains in the right-hand part of field 14 reference symbols A-E. At A all the circuits are set to zero because both a K11-pulse and a K12- pulse appear at the same time. At B five K11-pulses have been obtained, which generates the signal fresh form which appears on the conductor Ch7 from the control network and the signal P1 which is the starting signal for the punch 5. When the punching fresh form is finished, the register and the phase flip-flops are set to zero and the reading condition is obtained. During each K11 signal the reading take place in the zone C. After this signalthe decoding phases are passed through and information stored in the register is punched. After the last decoding phase the register and the phase flip-flops are set to zero. The same thing as in zone C takes place at D except that also the reading condition is set to zero. At E all the circuits are set to zero.

If the signals K11 and K12 appear at the same time in the zone C, the form must have been fed askew below the reading head. This results in an error signal immediately interrupting the punching operation and lighting a red lamp. The lamp calls the operators attention to the error and the operator must feed the form through the reading device once more. After such an indication manual resetting must take place before a punching operation can be carried out. If the counter records more than forty K11 markings or signals, for instance due to dirt, erasure chips or the like, an error signal is also obtained preventing punching according to the above. An error signal is also obtained if a form is fed too early into the reading device. If the fresh form comes to rest on the preceding form, its control markings appear in the zone C of the preceding form, which results in an error signal and interruption of the punching operation. If the fresh form comes below the preceding form, the first part of the fresh form is cut off and when the coinciding markings at E at its end are read, the counter will not have recorded forty K11- markings, which results in an error signal preventing the punching operation.

The time diagram in FIG. 4 illustrates the various decoding phases Fl-F3. After reading a line which is finished at A, the first decoding phase begins and during this phase the answer to the question in the first group of markings on a line is punched out. This is followed by an interval of 75 us, which time period C gives the punching mechanism time to recover before the next decoding phase F2 begins, during which phase the answer to the question in the second group of markings on a line is punched out. After this decoding phase there is another recovering period C of 75 pis. This recovering period is followed by the decoding phase F3 during which the answer to the question in the last group of markings on the line is punched out and at the end of which resetting to zero takes place, whereupon reading of the next line begins at B.

The reading device according to the present invention not only assures reading of the information on the form but also permits the use of a conventional punch. This is due to the fact that a line on the form is read in parallel and after that the reading of the register and the punching of the information therein take place in series in three different decoding phases.

In order that the student should get his test paper 'or answer form corrected immediately after the written test, an anser key 3 or a device for marking the correct answers on the form or copy 2 of the form has been provided according to the present invention. This device is shown in more detail in FIGS. 18-22. It comprises a plate of some suitable material 30 in which there are holes corresponding to the markings in the fields 12 and 13 on the form. This plate 30 is placed on a suitable support 31 andv may be attached to this support 31 by means of a hinge so that it can be swung upwardly from the support 31. Pins 32 are introduced from the underside of the plate 30 which faces the support 31. A pin 32 is introduced into the plate 30 for each correct answer alternative. The point of the pins 32 is preferably cup-shaped so that a sharp edge 32A is formed on each pin. Provided at the sides edges of the unit 30-32 are guide-rails 33 (FIG. 19) which serve to guide a roller 34 which is movable over the unit 30- 32 and preferably rotatably mounted on a shaft 35. When the roller 34 is carried along the guide-rails 33 (FIG. 22) its coating will be depressed, as shown at 36 in FIG. 22, when it passes a pin 32. Also provided on the plate 30 are guiding members 37 whereby the copy 2 of the form can be placed in correct position on the plate 30. A carbon paper sheet 38 with its carbon side facing the copy 2 is inserted between the unit 30-32 and the copy 2. When the roller 34 moves over the unit 30-32 each pin 32 will thus make a round ring on the copy 2. Consequently, if the copy 2 is in a correct position on the unit 30-32, each correct answer marking will be provided with a round ring whereby the student can read his test result.

If the student puts the copy 2 in a wrong manner, the rings will be applied entirely outside the markings on the copy 2 since the markings are placed in the symmetrical way described in connection with FIG. 2.

The device described in the preceding paragraph may of course be arranged in various manners. Instead of only marking correct answers on the copy 2, the pins, for example, may be formed as punches and holes may be punched in the copy 2 by means of another member than the roller 34.

Although an embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described herein, it is obvious that various modifications may be made within the scope of the inventive concept defined in the appended claims.

What we claim and desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A device for processing multiple choice type diagnostic testing information comprising an original form and at least one duplicate form attached to said original form, each of said forms comprising a plurality of fields aligned with each other, said fields providing means for the adding and reading out of coded and uncoded information to said device, said plurality of fields comprising a first coded field having areas positioned relative to a system of coordinate axes coinciding with intersecting boundaries of said first coded field, the areas of said first coded field providing an arrangement for markings representing said diagnostic information by positioning said markings in predetermined area positions at distances along said coordinate areas, the widths of said markings and the spaces between said markings along any one axis being equal to each other, thereby preventing confusion resulting from the incorrect positioning of said device during processing, and a second coded field having areas abutting the boundaries of said first coded field, said second coded areas providing markings for controlling reading out of said information from said device, said markings in said second coded areas comprising clock-pulse generating markings divided into at least two columns, each column being positioned in separate portions of said second coded areas, said two columns being each positioned in opposite second coded areas abutting boundaries of said first coded areas, said clock-pulse generating markings in one column abutting one of the boundaries of said first coded areas being aligned with a plurality of markings in said first coded areas, and said clock pulse generating markings in the second column abutting the outer boundary of said first coded areas being aligned with the space between said pluralities of markings in said first coded areas. 

1. A device for processing multiple choice type diagnostic testing information comprising an original form and at least one duplicate form attached to said original form, each of said forms comprising a plurality of fields aligned with each other, said fields providing means for the adding and reading out of coded and uncoded information to said device, said plurality of fields comprising a first coded field having areas positioned relative to a system of coordinate axes coinciding with intersecting boundaries of said first coded field, the areas of said first coded field providing an arrangement for markings representing said diagnostic information by positioning said markings in predetermined area positions at distances along said coordinate areas, the widths of said markings and the spaces between said markings along any one axis being equal to each other, thereby preventing confusion resulting from the incorrect positioning of said device during processIng, and a second coded field having areas abutting the boundaries of said first coded field, said second coded areas providing markings for controlling reading out of said information from said device, said markings in said second coded areas comprising clock-pulse generating markings divided into at least two columns, each column being positioned in separate portions of said second coded areas, said two columns being each positioned in opposite second coded areas abutting boundaries of said first coded areas, said clock-pulse generating markings in one column abutting one of the boundaries of said first coded areas being aligned with a plurality of markings in said first coded areas, and said clock pulse generating markings in the second column abutting the outer boundary of said first coded areas being aligned with the space between said pluralities of markings in said first coded areas. 